Points North is a collection of twentieth century piano duets written by composers who hail from the north of England. The most recognizable name among them is
William Walton, whose transcriptions of two of his own orchestral works -- Portsmouth Pint and Siesta -- open the disc. Both transcriptions are entirely suited to the piano, but Keith Swallow and John Wilson also bring out a larger, orchestral sense of a soundscape.
Walton's Duets for Children are at times almost more sophisticated than what a child might play, although they all have a childlike nature, similar to
Stravinsky's Easy Pieces for piano duet (
Walton's duets were originally written for solo piano, but he was told they were too hard for a child to play). Many of the other works in the collection are typical of English music of the time. The duets by Leonard Isaacs and Percy Young are directly based on folk tunes à la
Vaughan Williams, Holst, and
Grainger. Much of Norman Cocker's Eight Duets also owes a lot to
Grainger, specifically his folk dances. The first half of Thomas Pitfield's Minors, a suite of pieces all in minor keys, features modern interpretations of the ancient Galliard and Sarabande (think Peter Warlock), and a Rigaudon at the end. What sticks out, although still a dance form, is the Sinister Dance in 7/8 meter; it's quirky, but not threatening in attitude, and less obviously tonal or modal than the others in the set. The Sonatina by Roy Heaton Smith is the latest work here, composed in 1990, and is entirely tonal and straightforward in structure, with an overall impression of stateliness. The first movement is similar to a Baroque overture that alternates regal fanfare-like sections with faster moving fare, while the finale is a modified passacaglia. The one brief suite that stands out, purely because the humor in it seems so entirely written to please a personal whim, is The Creel by Alan Rawsthorne. It was intended for young pianists, but the amount of imagery in each fishy character study could appeal to anyone. Even though the works here are not substantial, the animation in Swallow and Wilson's playing turns some unknown pieces for piano duet into a charming little treat.